Bodega Cantina is a chain of South American style restaurants with venues in Birmingham, Worcester, Leicester and, now, Derby. I was invited to the opening of the new eatery on the 12th of April. Upon arrival in Sadler Gate, Derby we were greeted with a Margarita and began looking around the building. The thing that immediately hit me was the beautiful decor, most of all this artwork on the wall:

From what I recall being told it was created by a local artist in Birmingham. This mural sit underneath a sky-light making it a very gorgeous part of the main room.

We were brought around little tasters of the food Bodega has to offer and my god they were all so amazing. With almost all their dishes being made on site you could really taste the freshness pushing through the flavour.



My favourite dish that I tasted that night was the Pulled Pork tacos, but the real twist was that the meat was marinated in Dr. Pepper. Sounds strange but your questioning would stop when you taste them, absolutely flavourful and tender. Other items that we tasted included nachos, fritas and coxinhas. Every time a new plate of food came around I found it difficult to say no, it tasted so good.

The one thing that caught my eye when looking at the menu were the prices. It's not exactly the cheapest place, especially for a student city. It's a good place to go for a treat every now and but wouldn't be your sort of 'regular' place to go. After talking to the owner of the restaurant he confirmed that they never planned to go for the cheap, student vibe and wanted the place to be seen as a once-in-a-while treat.

In summary, Bodega offers great tasting food combined with a beautiful design. Great for visiting every now and then if you fancy trying something alternative and different. If you want to try this food out for yourself then please making a booking online or call: 01332 224270.